First homes at former Crown Lynn pottery site up for sale

Huge plans have been unveiled for the urban redevelopment of the well-known former Crown Lynn pottery and brick-making site in West Auckland - containing some 1800 new residential dwellings. And the first batch of 88 townhouses within the New Lynn site are being offered up to the market through registrations of interest. The 12 hectare area to be known as West Edge is bordered by Margan Ave, Crown Lynn Place, and Rankin Ave, and when complete, will encompass duplex and terraced housing, and a handful of mid-rise apartment blocks - some with retail premises at street level. The area has already been designated a Special Housing Area under the joint Auckland Council/Government housing accord. This designation will allow for the fast-tracking of the building consent approvals process. The ‘affordable housing’ policy mandates that at least 10 percent of any new housing development must be at a price range equivalent to 75 percent of the median dwelling sale price on a set date. The West Edge project is one of the biggest single designer-planned developments seen in Auckland, and rivals the likes of Hobsonville Point in West Auckland, Stonefields in South Auckland, and Millwater just north of Auckland. The new West Edge residential precinct reflects the shift of Auckland’s inner-city urban fringe westward through Point Chevalier, past Avondale, and out to New Lynn. The West Edge residential area is comparable in size and scale to New Lynn’s current CBD. Building at West Edge is scheduled to begin in March next, with the first stage of the development ready for occupation by new home and apartment owners at the end of 2016 The West Edge project will be rolled out in up to six stages over what is currently projected to be a six to seven year time-frame. Expressions of interest are being taken by real estate agency Bayleys from home buyers hoping to secure one of the first 88 terraced units within the Edge Hill precinct of West Edge. Expressions of interest can be lodged online through the website www.westedge.co.nz Development of West Edge is being undertaken by New Zealand-based company Avanda Limited which has considerable experience in large-scale multi-faceted residential property projects. The two and three-bedroom townhouses going up for sale will range in size from 80 square metres to 146 square metres, and each will have a balcony. The residences will range upwards of $500,000. Depending on bedroom configurations, they will have either one or two bathrooms. Each townhouse will have off-street parking - either single car garaging or a carport. A showroom display suite to exemplify the living lifestyle available in the 88 terraced homes at West Edge is being built at nearby Rankin and will be open for viewing from October 17. The show-home will be staffed by Bayleys sales representatives. The West Edge terraced homes are being sold with chattels including dishwasher, stove, washing machine, and heat pumps. Bayleys Real Estate projects general manager Russell Adams said that for the past decade, demand for Auckland residential property had been strongest in suburbs deemed to be on the ‘city-fringe’. In the western sector of Auckland, that ‘city-fringe’ now sits at New Lynn. "The former Crown Lynn location was chosen because of the extensive social infrastructure network already in place across New Lynn - most notably the recently expanded and modernised north-western rail link directly into Downtown Britomart," Mr Adams said. "The West Edge development also borders the existing heart of New Lynn’s retail town hub, anchored by LynnMall shopping centre and supported with the full gamut of community amenities such as library, health clinics, and fitness centres." Bayleys colleague Andrea Ritchie who is heading up the West Edge residential sales team, said the registration of interest marketing process would allow West Edge townhouse buyers to indicate their preference for the size and location of the home they were looking for. When plans are finalised, initial buyer deposits would be called on. "Buying off-plan has traditionally been a successful and easily-understood purchasing mechanism for apartment projects. Because it is so ‘buyer-friendly’, the method is being adopted by West Edge’s developers. We expect it to be warmly embraced by younger home buyers stretching their budgets to achieve the Kiwi dream of owning their own home," Ms Ritchie said. "The rationale essentially enables the likes of first home buyers and those seeking affordable homes to secure their dream residence with minimum initial outlay at a fixed price. The intervening 13 month building period then allows those buyers to save a considerable sum, which is then deducted off their final mortgage budget." West Edge will ultimately consist of multiple individual residential precincts which will all be built around a large man-made lake and parkland area to be known as Edge Central. Avanda also has plans to create a limited amount of retail space at the base of some of the apartment blocks to house a range of cafés, small convenience stores, and neighbourhood-focused hospitality entities. Streets within the West Edge development are to be named after various Crown Lynn pottery pattern designers and the ranges they created throughout the company’s 64-year production history at the site. Other streets are to be named and after a range of West Auckland luminaries and civic personalities.